Gaming device manufacturers strive to make wagering gaming devices that provide as much enjoyment, entertainment and excitement as possible for players. Providing interesting and exciting primary or base games and secondary or bonus games in which a player has an opportunity to win potentially large awards or credits is one way to enhance player enjoyment and excitement. Certain known gaming devices use mechanical devices such as reels, wheels or spheres to enhance the attraction of the gaming machines to players and also to enhance the player's game playing experience. These mechanical devices enable a player to see physical movements of a game, a portion of a game, or a functional game event or element which increases the player's enjoyment of the game.
In one known slot gaming device, the gaming device includes a plurality of reels and one or more paylines. Such gaming devices include any suitable number of reels, such as three to five reels, which each display any suitable number of symbols per reel, such as three symbols per reel. In these gaming devices, the player initiates the spinning of the reels by making one or more wagers on one or more paylines. Such gaming devices may have one, three, five, nine, fifteen, twenty-five or any other suitable number of paylines which are horizontal, vertical, diagonal or any combination thereof. One type of gaming device includes a payline associated with each possible combination of symbol positions, wherein each payline passes through only one symbol position on each reel. The player wagers on a player selected number or combination of paylines, such as one, two, three, five, ten or fifteen paylines.
Multiple paylines present multiple opportunities for the player to obtain winning symbol combinations. Usually, players have to wager more to obtain the benefit of the multiple paylines. For example, a player may wager 1 credit to wager on one payline and 2 credits to wager on two paylines.
After the player wagers on one or more paylines, the reels spin and generate a plurality of symbols. The gaming device analyzes the generated symbols to determine if the gaming device has randomly generated a winning symbol or winning symbol combination on or along one or more of the wagered on paylines. Any awards associated with any generated winning symbols or winning symbol combinations generated along any wagered on paylines are provided to the player.
In these gaming devices, the awards provided to the player are generally based on the number of paylines that pass through each of the winning symbol combinations. That is, the gaming device separately analyzes each wagered on payline to determine if a winning symbol combination is generated on that payline. For each occurrence of each payline passing through a winning symbol combination, the gaming device provides the player the award associated with that winning symbol combination. For example, in a five reel gaming device, if four related symbols (which form a winning symbol combination) are generated by the first four reels and twelve paylines pass through the first three of those related symbols (i.e., three paylines running left to right pass through all four related symbols and nine paylines running left to right pass through the first three related symbols), the gaming device provides the player twelve awards (i.e., one award for each payline that passes through the winning symbol combination). These twelve separate awards are each for the single occurrence of the winning symbol combination including the four related symbols. Accordingly, in a gaming device with wagering on paylines, the greater the number of wagered on paylines, the greater the number of evaluations performed by the gaming device to determine if winning symbol combinations are generated on the wagered on paylines. Also, the greater the number of wagered on paylines that pass through a winning symbol combination, the greater the award as compared to an identical winning symbol combination in which fewer wagered on paylines pass through the same winning symbol combination.
In certain known gaming devices, a player must wager on the maximum number paylines (“max lines”) to be eligible to win a bonus. In certain other known gaming devices the player must wager maximum number of credits per payline (“max credits”).
In another type of gaming device with reels, the player wagers on a number of ways to win, wherein any award provided to the player is based on the number of associated symbols which are generated in active symbol positions on a requisite number of adjacent reels. In such ways to win gaming devices, the gaming device determines any outcome to provide to the player based on the number of associated symbols which are generated in active symbol positions on a requisite number of adjacent reels (i.e., not on paylines passing through any displayed winning symbol combinations).
Many known gaming devices enable players to make one or more side bets or side wagers. Such side bets are additional wagers placed by the player for each individual play of the game. The player's side bet provides the player a chance of obtaining a supplemental award in the play of the game, in addition to the player's existing chance of obtaining a first award. Awards are sometimes based on these side bets. Players sometimes place side bets to qualify for a type of game function or game event. For example, a player may make a side bet in order to become eligible for a bonus game or a bonus feature.
A need exists to provide a gaming device and method which provides a plurality of different types of symbol evaluations and enables the player to have additional award opportunities in the game.